A former high-ranking NYPD official is publicly backing a police reporting bill at the center of a fierce battle between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council, according to a letter and statement shared with Gothamist.
Dr. Tracie Keesee, who was hired in 2016 as the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of training, heads a list of 10 other former law enforcement officials from across the country who penned a letter to the Council that is expected to be released Monday in support of the How Many Stops Act, which requires police to to report all investigatory stops and provide demographic data. The letter comes more than one week after the mayor vetoed the bill, calling it well-intentioned but arguing that the inclusion of low-level stops would be overly burdensome to officers.
“We are deeply disappointed by Mayor Adams’ veto of the How Many Stops Act (HMSA), specifically Intro. 586, as it makes it clear he does not share our commitment to building deep trust between police and the communities they serve,” they wrote.
Keesee, who co-founded a group called the Center for Policing Equity, became the highest-ranking former NYPD official to stand behind the proposed reporting mandate that supporters say address the city’s history of unconstitutional stops that target Black and Latino men.
As a deputy commissioner, Keesee was charged with improving the relations between the community and the NYPD. During her three years on the force, she was appointed as the first ever deputy commissioner of equity and inclusion.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office reiterated the administration’s concerns that the bill would undermine public safety and said councilmembers should support the veto.
“If implemented, Intro. 586 would undermine that progress and make our city less safe,” the spokesperson, Charles Lutvak, said. “We share the Council’s goal of increasing transparency in government and tried to work with them to achieve that — the answer is not to compromise…
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